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State announces hiring of Kevie Thompson to secondary staff

3rupauk8_400x400by: Robbie Faulk10 hours agoRobbieFaulkOn3

A familiar Starkville face is returning to his home state to help out the Mississippi State football team.

Former Starkville High School and East Mississippi Community College Defensive Coordinator Kevie Thompson was announced as a member of Jeff Lebby’s staff for 2025. Thompson comes back to a place he called home and will be a part of the defensive backfield staff as an assistant to the safeties and nickels.

“Kevie has recruited this state at an elite level, he’s developed players everywhere he’s coached, and he brings a deep understanding of Mississippi’s players, coaches and talent pipeline,” Lebby said in a statement. “His credibility, coaching experience and relationships across this state make him a perfect fit for our program.”

Thompson has deep roots inside the state of Mississippi as he was a star defensive back for Raleigh High School in the early 2000s before playing for Southern Miss under head coach Larry Fedora. Shortly after the end of his career, Thompson got into coaching and went back to his Alma Mater at Raleigh to coach wide receivers, running backs and special teams.

Thompson spent time at Bethany College in Kansas before coming back to the Mississippi High School coaching ranks and leading defensive backs at Madison Central (2013-14) and Taylorsville (2015-16) before joining former Starkville coach Chris Jones as his Defensive Coordinator in 2017.

For two seasons, Thompson manufactured a stout Yellow Jacket defense leading the team to a state championship game in the staff’s first season in 2017. While in Starkville, Thompson built a relationship with then MSU DC Todd Grantham and would learn under his tutelage behind the scenes. Grantham would eventually hire Thompson as an assistant safeties and nickels coach at Oklahoma State in 2025.

Thompson also was DC for Hinds CC (2019-20) and EMCC (2022-24) while spending time as the Co-DC for West Alabama in 2021.

“Coming home to Mississippi and joining this staff is an incredible honor. Mississippi State is a place I’ve believed in for a long time, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be part of what Coach Lebby is building,” Thompson said. “The vision, the standard and the direction of this program are something I’m proud to align with. This state shaped who I am, and I’m excited to pour into our players, help develop elite defensive backs and represent Mississippi State every single day.”

Thompson joins a staff that is influx for 2026. DC Coleman Hutzler was fired on Saturday and replaced by former coordinator and head coach Zach Arnett. There have been no official replacements for assistants on that side of the ball and the staff is currently in tact for the Bulldogs Duke’s Mayo Bowl set for January 2.

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